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Council Votes 125-Acre Giveaway to Developer FivePoint

The City Council voted to replace the Great Park Veterans Cemetery with office and commercial development.

At the Tuesday night (Sept 26th) Irvine City Council meeting, a divided City Council voted to take one more step to replace the previously-approved Great Park Veterans Cemetery with a massive, office and commercial complex proposed by developer FivePoint Communities. The development entails nearly 1 million square feet of commercial property that will bring an estimated 10,000 cars and trucks, daily, to nearby residential communities — Woodbury, Stonegate, Portola Springs, and the Great Park Neighborhoods.

Mayor Donald Wagner and Councilmembers Christina Shea and Melissa Fox voted for the proposed zone changes that eliminate the Great Park Veterans Cemetery, and enable FivePoint to build their mega-project.

Councilmembers Jeff Lalloway and Lynn Schott voted NO, charging that this was obviously a giveaway of valuable City property to developer FivePoint, and that it would indefinitely delay any prospect of bringing a State-funded and State-maintained Veterans Cemetery to Irvine.

Under State law, the City Council will be required to vote one more time on this item —at its October 10th meeting.